Bruce Brown, three others return to Raptors’ lineup

Here comes the cavalry. In advance of the Toronto Raptors’ game against the Atlanta Hawks, Darko Rajakovic announced that Bruce Brown will return to the Raptors’ lineup. It will be his first game of the 2024-25 season as he’s been recovering from offseason knee surgery.

Brown averaged 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game in 34 games as a Raptor after being traded, among other players, for Pascal Siakam. However, he spent many of those few games hobbled. His efficiency, defence, and virtually every other performance indicator dropped from the highs of his time as a real contributor to the championship Denver Nuggets in 2022-23. The hope has to be for the Raptors that with surgery behind him, he can return to those highs of performance.

He will be joined by Ja’Kobe Walter, Jakob Poeltl, and Jamal Shead, all of whom are returning to Toronto’s lineup as well. The Raptors have been undermanned in recent weeks, and they just gave up a franchise-high (low) 155 points to the Memphis Grizzlies in their last outing. Toronto desperately needs energy and effort. The cavalry has to provide.

This will be just about Toronto’s closest brush with health so far this season. Immanuel Quickley remains out, and he hasn’t yet been cleared for contact in practice. He has been practicing, though, so he’s inching closer.

Toronto is 7-24, tied for the third-worst record in the league. It has lost nine straight games. The Raptors tip against the Atlanta Hawks, with Brown, Poeltl, Walter, and Shead, at 6 pm EST.

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